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The B minor 7 chord (Bm7) on guitar

Bm7 is B minor with an A added on top, and for once the richer chord is the easier one. Its open shape needs three fingers at the same fret and no barre, which is why so many beginners meet Bm7 before they can play Bm. Its barre shape is the Bm barre with one finger lifted. Both are real Bm7, and both show up constantly in the keys of D, A and G.

Bm7 chord: notes and shapes at a glance

  • Name: B minor seventh
  • Symbol: Bm7
  • Notes: B, D, F#, A
  • Where it belongs: vi7 in D major, iii7 in G major, ii7 in A major, ivm7 in F# minor, im7 in B minor

Each shape below is written from the thickest string to the thinnest: a number is the fret, 0 an open string, x a string you do not play. New to this? See how to read chord diagrams.

Shape Frets, low E to high E Notes, low to high What it is for
Bm7, open x20202 B D A B F# The easy Bm7: three fingers at fret 2, the D and B strings ring open. Complete, all four notes.
Bm7, four strings x2423x B F# A D The barre version without the high E. Tighter and cleaner, very good for strumming.
Bm7, barre x24232 B F# A D F# The standard Bm7: your Bm barre with the fourth finger lifted off the G string.
Bm7, sixth string root 7x777x B A D F# B in the bass on the low E, fifth string muted. A compact jazz and soul voicing.
Bm7, seventh fret 797777 B F# A D F# B The Em7 shape barred at the seventh fret. Six strings, one finger off a full Bm barre.
Bm7, open x 2 0 2 0 2 · 1 · 2 · 3 fingers
Bm7, four strings x 2 4 2 3 x · 1 3 1 2 · fingers
Bm7, barre x 2 4 2 3 2 · 1 3 1 2 1 fingers
Bm7, sixth string root 7 x 7 7 7 x 1 · 2 3 4 · fingers
Bm7, seventh fret 7 9 7 7 7 7 1 3 1 1 1 1 fingers

Read each diagram from the thickest string on the left to the thinnest on the right. A cross means the string is not played, a circle means it rings open.

Bm7 on the neck: every B, D, F#, A

Standard tuning, frets 0 to 12. The highlighted notes are the notes of Bm7: any shape you build from them, anywhere on the neck, is still Bm7.

Fretboard notes
Swipe the fretboard sideways to see every fret.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1 - E
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
2 - B
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
3 - G
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
4 - D
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
5 - A
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
6 - E
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
C
C#
D
D#
E

How to play Bm7

The open shape: x20202

First finger on the fifth string (A) at fret 2: that is B. Second finger on the G string at fret 2 (A), third finger on the high E at fret 2 (F#). The D and B strings ring open and give D and B. Arch the fingers so the open strings are not touched, and do not play the low E. Five strings, four different notes, no barre.

The barre shape: x24232

Start from the Bm barre, x24432. Lift the fourth finger off the G string: the barre at fret 2 now sounds A there. That one finger is the whole difference between Bm and Bm7, and it is why Bm7 is often the gentler barre to begin with: the first finger has three notes to sound instead of two, but the hand is more open.

x2423x, the same shape without the high E, is often cleaner than the full version. If the first string keeps buzzing, drop it: the four notes are still there.

Bm7, Bm, B7 and Bmaj7: four neighbors

Chord Notes Sound
Bm B, D, F# Minor, plain
Bm7 B, D, F#, A Minor, soft and open
B7 B, D#, F#, A Dominant, tense
Bmaj7 B, D#, F#, A# Major, bright

The one people mix up is Bm7 and B7. They share three notes; the third decides. D natural is Bm7, D# is B7.

Progressions with Bm7

Change Shapes What it is
Bm7, E7, Amaj7 x24232, 020100, x02120 The ii V I in A major, the backbone of jazz and soul progressions.
D, Bm7, G, A xx0232, x20202, 320003, x02220 I vi IV V in D, with Bm7 softening the vi.
Bm to Bm7 x24432 to x24232 Lift one finger and listen to the A soften the chord.
Amaj7, Bm7, C#m7, Dmaj7 x02120, x24232, x46454, x57675 Climbing the key of A one step at a time. Bm7 and C#m7 are the same shape, two frets apart.

To hear Bm7 in songs: Jason Mraz's Live High uses it among A, C#m7, Dsus2 and Dm7, and the Gipsy Kings' Bamboléo moves between Bm and Bm7 with F#m, E, A and C#7. Related pages: E7, Amaj7, and the same shape one fret up, Cm7.

Frequently asked questions

How do you play Bm7 on guitar?
The easiest version is x20202: first finger on the fifth string at fret 2, second finger on the G string at fret 2, third finger on the high E at fret 2, with the D and B strings open. The standard barre version is x24232.
What notes are in a B minor 7 chord?
B, D, F# and A: the root, the minor third, the fifth and the minor seventh. A is the note that turns Bm into Bm7.
Can I play Bm7 instead of Bm?
Often. Bm7 contains the whole of Bm, plus A, so it fits most strummed songs where Bm is written, with a softer sound. Where the melody leans hard on the plain minor chord, it can blur things. The reverse is not always true: if the chart says Bm7 and the A matters, Bm will sound plain.
What is the difference between Bm7 and B7?
The third. Bm7 has D (B, D, F#, A); B7 has D# (B, D#, F#, A). One sounds soft and minor, the other tense and dominant, pulling to E.
What chords go with Bm7?
In A major, Bm7 is the ii chord: Bm7, E7, Amaj7 is the ii V I. In D major it is the vi: D, Bm7, G, A. In G major it is the iii.
Yohann Abbou, guitar teacher and founder of Guitar Social Club

Who made this

Guitar Social Club is the work of Yohann Abbou, a guitar teacher in Paris who teaches adults. Every shape on this page is written string by string and checked against standard tuning, and the diagrams are drawn from those same fret numbers. The rest of our free guitar tools, including the chord finder, work the same way.

More about Yohann on his page, and about why Guitar Social Club exists.